Painted China Cabinet Using Fusion Champlain { Furniture Makeover }

I have been getting a growing number of requests for custom work from local people. In the past, I have shied away from doing custom painting jobs, mainly because I have been so busy with painting my own pieces that the time for painting others just isn’t there.

I am thankful for the work, and it has been fun getting to see my customer’s satisfaction first hand. When I sell a piece in my booth space, I rarely know where it goes, so I miss out on that chance to see how it fits into its new space and how it becomes a blessing to its new owners. With custom work, that is all different.

So anyway, two weeks ago I started work on making over this large china cabinet as a custom piece for a local client. If you read my post last week about painting hardware, this is cabinet I mentioned.

It’s a biggie–so I took apart the top and bottom pieces and worked on them separately.

That obviously is the base . . . and here is the top.

The client wanted it finished a distressed, white–and not a bright white, but more of warm-toned white.

This was an older piece, but not old enough to have lost its glossy finish. If it was going to stay in my own house, I probably would have just wiped it down and skipped sanding all together . . . But, I want to provide the best work for a paying client, so I decided to give it a quick sanding, just to help open up the surface of the finish.

And when I say quick sanding, I really do mean quick. I used a 150 grit sandpaper and took literally 5 minutes to scratch up the surface of the cabinet, then wiped off the dust with a wet rag. That was it. It was such a light sanding that after I wiped off the dust, you couldn’t even tell I had sanded at all–but that’s ok! A quick sanding like this opens up microscopic holes in the pores of the gloss, which is all you need to get a better grip for the paint.

I had a little bit more prep to do–taking off all of the hardware, and this cabinet had a ton!

A tip I have shared before, but it’s worth saying again . . . take a few minutes and label your hardware as you take it off a piece.

Hardware has a way of getting a little finicky and usually wants to go back into the same holes, so labeling your pieces will save you the headache of screwing and unscrewing hinges and pulls 15 thousand times.

With the prep done, I could start to paint. Fusion Mineral Paint in Champlain is the perfect, warm-toned off white, so that was my choice.

This is after one coat. I ended up needing three coats in order to get the full, matte coverage I wanted.

A reader on my Facebook page asked if I had used the Color Blocker underneath my first coat (great question!!). I did not use the Color Blocker, simply because I was out. Had I used it, I probably would have only had to apply 2 coats of the Champlain to get full coverage.

Just be prepared though that if you are painting dark wood any shade of white, you are going to likely need at least 3 coats. That’s just how colors work. It takes a lot of white pigment to cover all of that dark, wood stain.

With the top of the cabinet, I had to make sure to paint every single surface. The back of the cabinet was a large mirror, so it would reflect the inside and underside of every piece of wood there.

Are you seeing now how this turned into a big project?

When it was all said and done, I used two pints of Champlain to finish the whole cabinet. That may seem like a lot, but $40 worth of product to completely transform a huge china cabinet? That’s not too bad.

Soon after the last coat was dry to the touch, I used more 150 grit sandpaper to distress all of the edges of the cabinet, then finished sanded the whole piece with 320 grit sandpaper to make it smooth to the touch.

The client loved it 🙂 And i have to admit, it looks pretty amazing in her gorgeous dining room.

Finishing off the last coat with the 320 grit sandpaper really does leave the finish feeling smooth as butter–and remember, this is all without any wax topcoat.

Fusion on its own will provide a highly durable, waterproof finish. While moving the cabinet back into her house, we left a few dirty fingerprints on the top moulding. I showed the client how a wipe with a damp rag took away the dirt in seconds.

I really enjoyed photographing her beautiful space, if you can’t tell 🙂

The day after we delivered the it back to her, my client hosted her daughter’s birthday party and had the chance to show off her new cabinet.

It’s fun to be able to provide people with something beautiful they are proud to display.

Thanks for stopping by today, I have more custom work in the mix, as well as a piece of my own I am playing around with–so stay tuned for more furniture makeovers!

I have two of those monster china closets to paint and only one comes apart. Appx. how many hours did you spend on this one?

With this Fusion paint, when you sand, does it sand off like chalk paint (dust) or like latex (rubbery)?

With an item this big, I am tempted to try something that doesn’t need a finish coat. I am used to standing on a ladder to paint, but I think standing on a ladder to wax is not something I look forward to.

Melanie
on July 31, 2015 at 7:57 am

Haha, yes Teri standing on a ladder to wax does not sound fun at all.

Great question about the sanding–it sands off much more like Latex than chalk paint. It does take a good bit more elbow grease to really distress a piece, which is why I always start distressing soon after the last coat dries to the touch. It’s doable, just takes some tougher grit sandpaper and a little more patience.

All in all, I would say this piece took me maybe 5 hours of active work–so that doesn’t include the time it sat to dry. I painted the base in about a 2 day period, then the top in another 2 day period, then spent an hour or so the last day screwing back in all the hardware and scraping paint off the back mirror.

The cabinet looks so good. I really appreciate all the details in your tutorial post. When I am trying something new which using the Fusion paints would be, I do need more details. Hope your custom work contiunes to go very well! Linda

Melanie
on July 31, 2015 at 7:54 am

Thanks Linda 🙂 I hope my posts are helpful, and I’m always happy to answer more questions over email at Melanie@LostandFoundDecor.com. Thanks for stopping by!

I’m working on a smaller Champlain buffet as I type, it too needed three coats over the dark, and since this is for me, well you know….not pre sanding, but have to find me some 350 grit I guess, because your looks fantastic.

Melanie
on July 31, 2015 at 7:53 am

Thanks 🙂 320 or even 220 grit will work for the finish sanding. It really does make all the difference in how the piece feels!

Oh my goodness, it turned out SO beautiful, Melanie! I can see why you enjoyed photographing it. 😉

Melanie
on July 31, 2015 at 7:52 am

Thanks Rachel 🙂 It was a beautiful dining room. The mirror in the back of the cabinet gave me a little trouble, but nothing some editing tricks couldn’t fix.

Rachel Fall
on July 31, 2015 at 12:41 am

Lovely piece. Do you usually do a wax finish after using fusion paint?

Melanie
on July 31, 2015 at 7:51 am

Thank you Rachel. No, Fusion requires no topcoat to seal the paint, and is highly durable (even waterproof!) all on its own. A wax or poly topcoat can be added if you want to add additional sheen, but I typically just go with the satin paint finish alone. Fusion is acrylic-based, so it seals itself and is not porous like a chalk-type paint. This post is explains the differences between the two paints more: http://www.lostandfounddecor.com/how-tos/chalk-paint-vs-fusion-mineral-paint-whats-the-difference/

Fabulous! What I love most about this piece is the solid coverage. Like you said, it takes a few coats, but it is so worth it in the end. You completely revived this piece, and for only $40 in supplies, which is a total bargain! You have inspired me to get going on a piece I have that is probably from the same era as your piece. I have some Champlain, but am thinking I need to use the Ultra Grip primer on this one. It has one of those really hard, glossy factory finishes. Any thoughts on that?

Well! I have cabinets in my house but these designed one are just awesome and I am going to paint mine too. Thanks for sharing these fusion tips!

Narelle
on August 10, 2015 at 8:49 am

Just gorgeous! Great job! I think that table needs doing next :-))

Teri
on August 11, 2015 at 2:50 pm

Melanie, can you describe the whites to me? Which one is pure white? What color is lamp white?

Melanie
on August 11, 2015 at 7:58 pm

Hi Teri. Fusion has 5 whites in it’s line. Casement is the purest, bright white, however it is also the most difficult color to work with (given that it is the bright, bright white!). Picket Fence, in the Fusion Designer Color line is also a bright white, although slightly less pure white than Casement. When wanting a bright white finish, Picket Fence is my recommendation as I feel it is formulated a little better than Casement. Limestone is the warm-toned off white (almost exactly the same color as ASCP Old White), and Lamp White is the gray-toned white. Champlain is the most popular of the whites and is a neutral, off white. If you look around on google or Pinterest for images of items painted in those various colors it may help you visualize them more.

Lauren
on August 12, 2015 at 9:21 am

This turned out beautifully! Did you paint the hardware at all? If so, what color or process did you use? I have a similar piece I’d like to do this with. Thanks!

Wow Melanie, I think you have a career in this. The piece came out amazing. Great job with this re-do. I love it. You brought out its beauty perfectly.

Janet

Melanie
on September 17, 2015 at 5:59 pm

Thank you Janet!

Cyndi Knapp
on August 31, 2015 at 12:10 pm

Beautiful work! I’m trying to start a small side business because I simply love to refinish furniture, lamps, etc! I’m having a hard time with pricing and making it worth my wild! I would like to eventually be able make a living doing this(if possible)! My question is how much did you charge for this peice? Also how much money to charge for furniture you buy. I understand it all depends on the peice ofcourse. But I’m just trying to get a idea based on my experience and with keeping in mind, I’m new at selling! But lots of experience refinishing and keeping it!My husband and some friends say I’m pretty good and should start selling! I’m getting totally burnt out on my job, and find that all I want to do on my days off, is go on the hunt for treasures and start painting, it’s 100% a Hobbie that I enjoy so much!
I stubbled across your work and story,Then got more inspired I thought this really can be possible even though I get people saying, you won’t make money! I’m very creative in many ways, and know I can do this, but need to keep focused and not listen to negative comments!

Melanie
on August 31, 2015 at 4:27 pm

Hi Cyndi. Great questions! I will respond to them via email if you don’t mind. Thanks for stopping by!

Cynthia
on October 16, 2015 at 11:47 am

I am in the process of refinishing my China Cabinet using Fusion paint and love the product. One question … how long did you let the two separate pieces sit before assembling back together? I’m worried the top and bottom might ‘fuse’ together if I do it too quickly!!

Melanie
on October 16, 2015 at 12:59 pm

That’s a great question Cynthia. It was probably 2 or 3 days. If you are concerned you can always let the two pieces sit for about a week, then you should be good 🙂

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